Dustdevils edge Lubbock Christian for 2nd straight win

Kamari Robinson finished with 15 points, four rebounds and three steals leading TAMIU to a 49-48 victory over fourth-place Lubbock Christian Saturday for its second straight conference win.

Photo: Cuate Santos /Laredo Morning Times

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TAMIU’s Xabier Gomez

Photo: Cuate Santos /Laredo Morning Times

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TAMIU’s Kamari Robinson

Photo: Cuate Santos /Laredo Morning Times

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Jeremy Wright leads TAMIU into a pair of road games at Oklahoma Christian and Newman this week. The Dustdevils have won two straight league games after the defending champs began a program-worst 0-8 and are oneJeremy Wright leads TAMIU into a pair of road games at Oklahoma Christian and Newman this week. The Dustdevils have won two straight league games after the defending champs began a program-worst 0-8 and are one back of the final postseason spot with six to play.

The Dustdevils 0-8 conference start is being put further and further in the rear-view mirror.

Texas A&M International held off fourth-place Lubbock Christian 49-48 at home on Saturday winning its second straight league game as it opened the second round of league play on the right note.

"It was a gutty performance and it showed a lot of character," TAMIU head coach Bryan Weakley said. "In those moments where we needed to perform, we had guys all across the board step up."

The win was another important one for the Dustdevils as the group improves to 9-13 with a 2-8 record in the Heartland Conference. The defending co-regular season champions are now right back in the thick of the hunt for the final Heartland Conference tournament spot with seven games to play.

TAMIU trails rival St. Mary’s at 3-7 by one game for the eighth and final spot in the nine-team conference tournament. Oklahoma Christian is two games ahead at 4-6 while Rogers State and St. Edward’s are each 5-5. The Dustdevils also own a victory over the latter picking up a 65-60 win last Saturday.

Saturday’s contest went down to the wire as each team played right with the other one. The Dustdevils controlled much of the first half leading by as many as nine with 1:36 left before the Chaparrals rallied to cut the deficit down to 27-26 at the break.

In the second half, TAMIU remained within striking distance never trailing by more than six. But its first lead wasn’t until the game’s final score as Xabier Gomez hit a 3 with 2:05 left for the 49-48 win.

LCU tried to counter but Marcos Schuster missed a jumper with 1:44 left before TAMIU’s Kamari Robinson missed a 3-point attempt at 1:17. Lubbock turned it over with 43 seconds remaining and forced a tough 3 from Jeremy Wright that clanked out with 16 seconds left. The Chaparalls got to their end of the court and called timeout with nine seconds remaining, and after drawing up a play, Isaac Asrat’s shot didn’t fall as time expired.

The victory wasn’t just the second straight for the Dustdevils, but two in a row in tight situations. TAMIU was previously 2-5 this season in games decided by eight points or less - losing five straight - and 0-3 in games within five points.

"I think it’s been the process of elimination in finally getting our team with no distractions," Weakley said. "That allowed us to concentrate more."

With senior Dan Milota (torn MCL) out for his third straight game, the school’s other two seniors led the charge. Forward Kamari Robinson finished with 15 points, four rebounds and three steals while point guard Jeremy Wright had 13 points, five assists and four boards.

Junior guard Xabier Gomez ended the game with nine points including the winning 3 while forward Damon Leach and guard Brendan Ortiz each had five points and four rebounds.

"Ever since after Christmas, Jeremy Wright has really led our basketball team and done a phenomenal job rising his level of accountability and voice among our group. By doing that, it’s elevated everyone else. He didn’t have that last year or even the first semester.

"Kamari the last two weeks has decided to practice more consistently. In turn, we have been able to count on him late in games."

TAMIU outlasted Lubbock despite being outshot 51.3 to 42.9 percent from the field. The Dustdevils held a slight 23-22 lead in rebounds but really capitalized all game off turnovers holding an 18-14 advantage including a 22-10 edge in points off turnovers. LCU won points in the paint 30-20.

With another victory in the books, TAMIU will try and keep their winning ways alive as they shift to the road. The Dustdevils head to Oklahoma Christian on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. before playing at Newman on Saturday at 3. In their previous meetings with each school nearly a month ago, TAMIU lost by a combined three points in both games.